KARACHI: No senior politician belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party has been named in the final joint investigation team (JIT) report of Uzair Jan Baloch, the head of the banned People’s Amn Committee, following a row between the Sindh Rangers and police over incorporating in the document certain disclosures that the Lyari gangster made in the custody of the paramilitary force, it emerged on Thursday.

Sources said that ‘some disputed points’ between the Rangers and police had caused a delay in the finalisation of the JIT report.

However, a senior police officer, who wished not to be named, told Dawn that the “differences” between the police and Rangers had been “resolved” and the JIT findings would soon be made public.

The sources said that the ‘disputed points’ mainly pertained to the alleged links of Uzair Baloch with certain senior politicians and officials of both police and Rangers.

However, the issues had been resolved in two meetings held between the senior leadership of the two forces, they added.

The sources said that the Rangers claimed that the Lyari gangster had said ‘a lot of things’ regarding his ties with senior politicians when they separately interrogated him. However, when he was presented before the JIT, he did not ‘admit’ that he had ties with top PPP leadership.

Uzair told the JIT that he had links with Senator Yusuf Baloch, MPA Sania Naz and then Karachi chief of the PPP Abdul Qadir Patel.

The sources said that the final JIT report did not contain names of senior officials of police and Rangers despite the fact that Uzair allegedly disclosed to the JIT that he had links with two officials of the two law enforcement agencies.

They said that the JIT members decided not to name the two officials in the final document.

The sources said that the JIT had come to that conclusion in its 46-page final draft report that Uzair Baloch was involved in 159 murders.

They said that Uzair did not admit before the JIT that he ran any criminal gang or a militant wing.

He told the JIT comprising officers from police, Rangers and intelligence agencies that he only headed the ‘political wing’ of the PAC and three gangsters — Noor Mohammed alias Baba Ladla, Comrade Sheeraz and Taj Muhammad alias Taju — independently operated the ‘militant wing’ of the PAC and were operating ‘independently.’

The sources said that Uzair also told the JIT that over the years he had ‘recommended’ posting of around 11 police officers as SHOs of different police stations in Lyari.

He also said that a chairman of the Fishermen Cooperative Society was also appointed on his ‘recommendations’.

About his sources of income, Uzair told the JIT that transport business, which he inherited from his father, was his main source of earning. Besides, he also got 10 per cent of all financial and property disputes he settled in his capacity of the head of the PAC.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016